Q: My friend sent me a folder with zipped files.

When I opened it on my computer, Windows showed the files’ names in green letters, rather than the normal black.

And when I tried to copy the zipped folder, Windows sent me this error message:

“Confirm Encryption Loss. Do you want to copy this folder without encryption? A problem is preventing this folder from being encrypted.”

What am I doing wrong?

A: Displaying file names in green letters, as shown above, is Windows’ way of telling you that those files are encrypted: They’re encoded to keep out snoops.

When Windows thinks a file is encrypted, it sometimes sends out odd error messages like the one below:

But the confusion can be cured quite easily. Turn the names back to black and avoid that error message by following these steps:

1. Right-click the green-lettered file or folder and choose Properties.
2. When the Properties window appears, click the Advanced button.
3. Click to remove the checkmark from the box called, “Encrypt Contents To Secure Data,” shown below, and click the OK button.

The letters return to their normal black, and you can share them with others without problem.

This annoying problem usually happens when dealing with a file that’s been zipped on an Apple computer, then opened with a Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer.

You can tell the zipped file came from an Apple computer if you spot a folder named __MACOSX inside the zipped folder. (That folder can be safely deleted on a Windows PC.)

The same green letters also appear if you try to copy files from a Windows drive that’s been encrypted with BitLocker, the encryption method built into some versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.

But no matter why the letters are green, the fix is the same: Uncheck the box called “Encrypt Contents to Secure Data” box. It’s an easy fix to a vexing problem.

Q: I can’t find the arrow next to the Home page button mentioned on page 150 of Windows 7 For Dummies.

I want to use several Home pages, each opened with its tab along the page’s top.

What do I do?

A: Microsoft released a new version of Internet Explorer through Windows Update, which replaced Internet Explorer 8 described in Windows 7 For Dummies.

Some people love the new browser; if you don’t care for it, it’s easy enough to return to Internet Explorer 8.

But love it or hate it, Internet Explorer 9 offers a slightly different way to change your Home page — the page that first appears when you load Internet Explorer.

In fact, Internet Explorer offers tabbed browsing, shown in the figure above, which lets you keep several websites open simultaneously. You can jump between the sites by clicking the tabs along their top.

By adding your favorite websites as your Home pages, they’ll all be waiting for you whenever you open your browser.

To add your favorite websites as Home pages, follow these steps:

1. Click the “Gear” icon in Internet Explorer’s top right corner. (Shown below, it’s just beneath the red “X” icon for closing the page.)



2. From the drop-down menu, choose Internet Options.
3. In the Home Page section, type the addresses of your desired Home pages, each one on its own line.

For example, you could fill that section with these three sites:

http://www.google.com
http://www.andyrathbone.com
http://www.facebook.com

Finished? Click OK to save your Home page choices, and you’re done. Add as many as you want, although your computer may slow down if you add more than a dozen.

When you close Internet Explorer and reopen it, your new Home page selections will each open in their own tabs.

Tip: Add your fastest-loading site on the first line. That gives you something to read while you wait for the other sites to load in the background.

Q:

Unfortunately, my headset’s microphone doesn’t seem to be working.

Before I invest in another headset, I want to be sure that my microphone is not being “muted” by a setting inside my computer.

How do I access the status of the microphone settings inside the computer?

A: Microsoft recently bought a company called Skype, which lets people talk to each other through an Internet connection rather than phone lines, saving considerable cash.

Microsoft will probably incorporate Skype into its products, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it show up inside Windows 8 later this year.

Until then, though, Windows Vista and Windows 7 offer the same ways to make sure your headset’s microphone works correctly.

To test and adjust your microphone, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Sound icon (the little white speaker) in your taskbar by the clock.
2. When the pop-up menu appears, choose Recording Devices.
3. When the list of recording devices appears, speak into the headset’s microphone and watch the bars next to that device.

The green bars should raise and lower to reflect your voice’s volume, as shown in the figure to the left.

When those bars move constantly as you speak, you know that the microphone is picking up the sound of your voice.

Don’t see any wavering green bars? Then something’s wrong, and you need to probe further.

Set the microphone as the Default Device

Notice the green check mark next to the first microphone shown to the left?

That means it’s the “Default device,” which is the microphone Windows currently listens through. (Many computers offer two or more microphone options.)

If your headset’s microphone isn’t listed as the default device, follow this step to change it:

• Right-click the microphone’s entry, choose Properties, and choose “Set as Default Device.”

Check the microphone’s levels

After setting the microphone as Default Device, follow these steps to check its sound recording levels.

1. Right-click the microphone’s entry, and choose Properties.
2. When the Properties box appears, click the Custom tab.
3. Select the Microphone Boost or AGC check box to amplify any weak signals.
4. Click the Levels tab.
5. Adjust the volume slider to the level that you want, and then click OK.
6. Click OK to close the Sound dialog box.

Although these are the basic settings included in Windows 7, different computers may offer slightly different settings. Many manufacturers install their own settings panels that override Windows 7′s built-in settings.

For more information, drop by Skype’s own microphone setup page. It offers detailed instructions and screenshots.

Microsoft also offers an automated FixIt program on its website that claims to fix some microphone issues in Windows 7. I haven’t tried it, but it’s worth a try if these instructions haven’t helped.

Q:

The hard drive already has some files. How do I format the drive to NTFS?

A: Creating a System Image on a portable drive is the best way to back up your Windows 7 computer.

Before a hard drive can be used,  though, it must be formatted, which is how computers prepare drives for incoming files.

Windows can format hard drives in several different ways, but System Images are picky: You can only store System Images on drives formatted with NTFS (New Technology File System).

Formatting a drive completely erases its contents, so you need to store your drive’s current files in a safe place. You can copy the drive’s files back to your computer, for example, to a flash drive, or burn them to a CD or DVD.

Once you’ve safely moved the files, follow these steps to format a drive using NTFS:

1. Plug the external hard drive into your computer.
2. Click the Start menu, and choose Computer.
3. Right-click your drive’s icon and choose Format from the pop-up menu.
4. When the Format window appears, be sure to choose NTFS from the File System menu.
5. Click the Start button.

Windows formats your drive using NTFS, making it acceptable for storing System Images.

After formatting your drive, copy its original files back onto the drive.

Alternatively, you can trust Windows to convert your drive to NTFS, leaving the existing files intact. However, if something goes wrong during the conversion process, you’ll lose your files.

It’s safer to backup your files, format the empty drive to NTFS, and copy the files back to the drive.

Q: I took photos of three different vacations in a row, and I want to import them into my computer.

How do I separate these pictures into three parts so that I can give them each a different label?

A: In a perfect world, we’d dump our camera’s photos into the computer after every photo session, labeling the incoming folder after the event, be it “Sky Diving in Indonesia” or “Backyard Bird Watching.”

Later, when your friends drop by, you can quickly find the right vacation photos.

But in the real world, many photos end up stuffed into a folder named “Stuff.”

How can you quickly isolate three separate trips from one huge pile of file names? Or what if all those sessions are still stored in your camera?

Actually, your camera has made the organization job easier than you may think. Whenever you snap the shutter, your camera invisibly stamps that moment’s time and date onto your photo. When you tell your computer to sort those files by their “Date Taken” times, your photos quickly appear in the order you snapped them.

When viewing your photos in the order you snapped them, you only need a few keystrokes to move each vacation into its own folder. In a nutshell, it takes three steps:

• Sort the photos by chronological order
• View the photos by thumbnail, rather than file name
• Copy each group of photos to its own folder

Tip: These steps work even if you’re looking at a single folder stuffed with vacation photos snapped by different people with different cameras — handy to know if you’ve become the Trip Archivist, who’s now in charge of creating a DVD to mail to everybody you met at the Bird Watching retreat.

Here’s what to do:

Sort the photos by chronological order

First, follow these steps to make your computer sort a folder full of photos into the order they were taken:

1. Open the folder containing all your unsorted photos. (If they’re still inside your camera, go ahead and import them all into a single folder.)
2. In the folder’s upper, right corner, click the downward-pointing arrow by the “Change your View” icon shown below.



3. When the drop-down menu appears, choose Details View, shown below. (That displays the files in columns that list their names, followed by details like file size and creation date.)



4. Right-click the top of an empty column, and when the pop-up menu appears, choose “Date Taken,” shown below. (Don’t see the “Date Taken” option? Click “More…” at the menu’s bottom to see every option; then choose “Date Taken.”)

Following those four steps sorts your photos chronologically, even if you’ve renamed them, or if they’ve been taken by different cameras. (If your photos are showing in reverse chronological order, click the “Date Taken” column header once to toggle them back to normal.)

View thumbnail images of your photos

Now that you’ve sorted your photos chronologically, click the View icon (shown in the margin) in the top corner until you can see thumbnails of your folder’s photos. That makes it easier to pinpoint which photos started and ended each trip or photo session.

Each click of the View icon toggles between icon sizes, but keeps their chronological sort order.

Tip: Photos still not big enough? Click the downward-pointing arrow to the right of the View icon; when the drop-down menu appears, choose Extra Large Icons. That makes the photos about two-inches wide.

Select and move groups of files into their own folders

Now follow these steps to move each group of vacation photos into their own folder.

1. Click the first photo in a sequence — for example, the photo that marked the start of your first vacation.
2. While holding down your Shift key, click the last photo in the sequence. (Windows quickly highlights those photos, along with every photo in between them.)
3. Right-click the selected group of files, and when the pop-up menu appears, choose Cut.
4. Create a new folder to receive that group, right-click a blank area inside that folder, and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.

Your computer quickly moves the highlighted photos into your newly created folder. (If your new folder is still misnamed as “New Folder,” rename it with the name of your vacation or photo session: Right-click the folder’s icon, choose “Rename,” and type in the new name.)

Repeat these steps for each group that belongs inside its own folder.

Tip: While you’re at it, take a few seconds to delete the awful photos. It’s the oldest photographer’s trick in the book, making people think you’ve never shot a bad photo.

Q: I’m using Outlook Express in Windows XP.

How can I list my contacts in alphabetical order?

A: The once-popular Outlook Express e-mail program enjoyed a good ten-year run, from Windows 3 to Windows XP.

Microsoft’s Windows Vista finally killed it, unfortunately, substituting Windows Mail, which died a short two years later.

Outlook Express lovers can still run the popular program in Windows 7, however. Just download and install Microsoft’s Windows XP Mode, and you’ll create a fully-functional Windows XP computer running in its own window on your desktop. And inside that window, you’ll find Outlook Express awaiting on Windows XP’s familiar Start menu.

But whether you’re running Outlook Express in Windows 98, Windows XP or Windows 7, the program lets you view and sort your Contacts in either of two ways.

Sorting your Contacts from the Address Book

To see your Address Book in Outlook Express, click the Addresses icon from the program’s menu bar along the top (shown to the left).

The Address Book window appears, listing your contacts’ names and e-mail addresses, each in their own columns.

The Address Book normally lists your contacts alphabetically by name.

If it doesn’t, sort them by name by following this step:

Click the word “Name” atop the column listing your contact’s names (shown to the left).

Outlook Express quickly sorts that particular row alphabetically. Click it again to sorts in reverse alphabetical order.

In fact, this trick works throughout Windows whenever you see a list of files, in any version of Windows, including Windows 7.

Clicking any column’s header quickly sorts those files by that header’s name. You can sort files by name, size, or creation date; you’ll find a wide variety of column headers in your Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos folders.

You can sort photos by the date they were taken, for example, handy when trying to find vacation photos from a specific trip.

Sorting contacts within the preview pane

Depending on Outlook Express’ layout, Outlook Express may list your contacts’ names along the program’s left edge, usually in the bottom left corner.

(If they’re missing, here’s how to put those Contacts’ names back where they belong.)

To sort those contacts names, follow these steps:

1. Click the word Contacts, right above the box listing your contacts’ names.
2. When the drop-down menu appears, choose Sort by Name.

Outlook Express will sort the names alphabetically by their first name.

Q:

How do I uninstall Internet Explorer 9 and go back to Internet Explorer 8?

A: Microsoft began offering Internet Explorer 9 on March 14, 2011. Like any new piece of software, some people love it and some people hate it.

If Internet Explorer 9 doesn’t meet your needs, it’s easy to retreat to your previous version. For Windows 7 owners, that’s Internet Explorer 8.

To remove Internet Explorer 9 and return to your previous browser, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, and type Programs and Features in the Search box along the Start menu’s bottom edge.
2. When the Uninstall or Change a Program window appears, click View Installed Updates in the left pane.
3. Under Uninstall an Update, scroll down to the Microsoft Windows section.
4. Right-click Windows Internet Explorer 9, click Uninstall, and when prompted, click Yes.
5. Click either Restart Now to finish the job, or Restart later to remove Internet Explorer 9 the next time your restart your computer.

After you uninstall Internet Explorer 9, the previously installed version of Internet Explorer, usually Internet Explorer 8, will return to life and handle your browsing chores. Windows installs it automatically; you needn’t fuss with trying to reinstall it.

Or, if you prefer, install an alternative browser like Firefox or Chrome. Internet Explorer isn’t the only browser in town.

Installing an alternative browser isn’t an all-or-nothing affair. The new browser stocks itself with any bookmarks or favorites you’ve created in Internet Explorer; then it waits in your Start menu for you to give it a try. You can switch between different browsers, seeing which works best for the work you do. You keep even run several browsers on your computer simultaneously, seeing which one you prefer for different tasks.

Or, you can stick with one. But installing a second browser won’t mess up your settings in your other browser.

Note: Unlike most updates sent through Windows Update, Internet Explorer 9 can be removed safely. But don’t try to remove other updates you see. Almost all of those updates plug serious holes in Windows. Removing those updates reopens those security holes, leaving your computer vulnerable to security problems.

How do I use and save Sticky Notes to highlight a point or a text in a document?

A: With Windows 7′s Sticky Notes, what you see is what you get: They’re an electronic equivalent of a real-life sticky note: A small square where you can jot down things before they leave your mind completely. However, they only stick to your Desktop; you can’t place them inside other programs.

To create a Sticky Note on your Desktop, click the Start button, choose All Programs, click Accessories, and click Sticky Notes.

A yellow sticky note appears on your Desktop, ready for you to click it and begin typing those important things. They’re great for a day’s To-Do list, for example, as well as reminders of what to pick up on the way home from work.

Create a new Sticky Note by clicking the + sign in any note’s upper, left corner; delete an existing Sticky Note by clicking the x in the note’s upper, right corner.

Once you create a Sticky Note on your Desktop, it stays there, perpetually reminding you of whatever you’ve typed.  When you restart or log off your computer, your Sticky Notes reappear, still affixed to their same spots on your Desktop.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to save Sticky Notes to a file or catalog them. Instead, treat Sticky Notes as memory joggers: a quick way to jot down an important thought before it’s replaced by another one.

If you’re looking to save more than a few memory-jogging words, then you’re best using the Notepad program, available by clicking the Start button, choosing All Programs, and clicking Notepad from the Accessories section.

And if you’re looking to highlight sections of a document, or insert your own comments, you’ll need to find a program that supports notes and highlighting.

Microsoft Word, for example, lets you add your own comments and highlights. Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader also lets you flag passages and insert your own notes.

But for now, at least, Sticky Notes only live on your Desktop.

Q: My friend forgot his Windows 7 password.

If I give him my Windows 7 System Repair Disc, can he restore his system to a point before he gave it a password?

And will my System Repair Disc work on his computer?

A: First, a lost password isn’t a problem in Windows 7.

It’s no problem at all, if you create a Password Reset Disk before you forget the password.

So, reader — yes, you — take a moment to create a Password Reset Disk on your Windows 7 computer by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel, click User Accounts and Family Safety, and then click User Accounts.
2. In the left pane, click Create a Password Reset Disk, and then follow the instructions. Store the password reset disk in a safe place.

You can create a Password Reset Disk from a memory card or USB flash drive.

But if you’ve neglected to create a Password Reset Disk, you still have a few less forgiving options. Let’s start with the System Repair Disk.

System Repair Disks are generic. Your friend can use one you created on your own PC; Windows 7 doesn’t care about the System Repair Disk’s ancestry.

And the System Repair Disk will let you use a Restore Point on the computer with a forgotten password. The catch? That computer needs to have a Restore Point that was created before the computer had a password.

Unless your friend password-protected his computer fairly recently, he probably won’t have a Restore Point that old.

So, his options might lie with a third-party website called LoginRecovery.

That site gives you instructions for creating a bootable CD.

Once you’ve created the CD, you place the CD into the computer with the forgotten password, and turn on the PC.

The PC awakens, reads the information on the CD, and sends the encrypted password to the LoginRecovery website.

The website tries to crack the password. If the site is succeeds, it lets you know. And, after you pay about $35, the site gives you back your forgotten password.

If it’s not successful, which happens if the password is very secure, you’re out of luck.

Haven’t created a Password Reset Disk yet? Jump back to the top of this post for instructions, and create one now. It’s time.

Q: Windows XP won’t remember my choice of media players.

When I right-click a music file and choose Play from the pop-up menu, I choose Windows Media Player. I also click the box that says, “Make this player default.”

But the next time I open a music file, a different media player opens the file. Right now, a media player called Creative MediaSource that came with my sound card takes control again and names itself “King.”

How can I stop it from always taking over control of my music?

A: Every music player on your computer wants the right to play your music.

Because of their possessiveness, you may find yourself handling arguments between iTunes, Windows Media Player, and even that odd music player bundled with your new sound card.

Sure, you can go through the steps of choosing your default music player by choosing Start -> Default Programs (Windows 7, Windows Vista) or Start -> Set Program Access and Defaults (Windows XP).

But even after you’ve gone through that trouble, one player keeps taking over.

The culprit? Some older media players include a special setting that makes them verify that they’re the default player each time they’re loaded. If that player discovers that a different program is the default player, the newly loading player snatches back that right for itself.

To stop that program from hogging the default player setting, you need to turn off a hidden setting in your rogue media player. But how do you find the setting?

It’s not easy. Different players use different language and different menus. But start by finding the Options or Preferences menus, and then looking for the words “default” or “file associations.” When you find those options, turn them off, and you’ve solved the problem.

The figure at the top of this page, for example, shows how Winamp’s “Enable Winamp agent” setting tells it to grab the default player setting whenever it’s loaded. Turning off the “Enable Winamp agent” setting from the Preferences menu stops Winamp from hogging the default player setting